Projects per year
Personal profile
Personal profile
Leif Johnson joined the department of China Studies in 2021. Trained as a geographer, his research focuses on migration and forms of legal and social bordering, with an emphasis on the roles played by gender in migration processes. His current research and writing focuses on the experiences of men who migrate into the construction industry in the Yangtze river delta, particularly in infrastructure construction.
Teaching
CCS 405 - Chinese Society
CCS 203 - China: Social Stratification and Change
CCS 304 - China: Understanding Gender
Education/Academic qualification
Ph.D. University of Kentucky, 2021
MA, University of Kentucky, 2015
BA Macalester College, 2011
Research areas
- Urban infrastructure
- Masculinity studies
- Bordering processes
- Rural-urban migration
Person Types
- Staff
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
Fingerprint
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
Projects
- 3 Active
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Creating the ‘atmosphere’: how immersive consumption experience shapes new consumption spaces
Cao, L. (PI) & Johnson, L. (CoI)
30/04/26 → 31/08/26
Project: Internal Research Project
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The Line and the margins of Global China: Migration infrastructures and everyday encounters in Chinese trans-border mobility in and through Latin America
Johnson, L. (PI)
1/01/25 → 31/12/27
Project: Internal Research Project
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Population Medicine and Sustainable Development
Valerio Mendoza, O. M. (PI), Chen, S. (CoPI), Bofulin, M. (CoPI), Wang, X. (CoPI), Li, J. (CoPI), Yang, T. (CoPI), Liu, F. (CoPI), Kameyama, Y. (CoPI), Johnson, L. (Team member) & Wanglu, H. (Team member)
1/01/23 → 31/12/26
Project: Collaborative Research Project
Research output
- 6 Article
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Fractal Borders: Locating the Boundaries of Urban China
Johnson, L., 21 May 2026, In: Geopolitics.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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The work of fluid metaphors in migration research: Geographical imaginations and the politics of writing
Johnson, L., Jacobsen, M. & Ehrkamp, P., Sept 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Progress in Human Geography.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access8 Citations (Scopus) -
Technologies of migration and citizenship: Life and work at the base of Shanghai’s digital infrastructure stack
Johnson, L., 26 Sept 2023, In: Global Media and China. 8, 3, p. 289-305 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access1 Citation (Scopus) -
Who builds Shanghai's fiber-optic network? Thinking urban infrastructure through migrant construction labor
Johnson, L., 29 Jan 2023, In: Environment and Planning A. 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access7 Citations (Scopus) -
Bordering Shanghai: China's hukou system and processes of urban bordering
Johnson, L., 1 Mar 2017, In: Geoforum. 80, p. 93-102 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
35 Citations (Scopus)
Activities
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International Journal of Urban Sciences (Journal)
Johnson, L. (Reviewer)
18 Jul 2026Activity: Peer-review and editorial work of publications › Publication Peer-review
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Political Geography (Journal)
Johnson, L. (Reviewer)
13 Jul 2026Activity: Peer-review and editorial work of publications › Publication Peer-review
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International Journal of Urban Sciences (Journal)
Johnson, L. (Reviewer)
30 Jun 2026Activity: Peer-review and editorial work of publications › Publication Peer-review
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The Line and the margins of Global China: Migration infrastructures of Chinese low-waged trans-Pacific mobility
Johnson, L. (Speaker)
20 Mar 2026Activity: Talk or presentation › Presentation at conference/workshop/seminar
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Political Geography (Journal)
Johnson, L. (Reviewer)
Aug 2025Activity: Peer-review and editorial work of publications › Publication Peer-review